UAV News Talk – Drone News, eVTOLs, UAS Policy & Air Mobility

An update on the aeronautical knowledge test for recreational drone pilots, UPS plans for medical deliveries, a drone field technician college degree, a waiver for drone flights over people, opinions on drone strikes on airliners, environmental BVLOS missions, and a message from the FAA on drones and dangerous weapons.

The FAA wants to outsource the administration of the aeronautical knowledge test for recreational drone pilots mandated by Section 349 of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018. The agency has posted a request for information and seeks responses from commercial, non-profit, or academic entities that would serve as test designees. The FAA said it won’t pay test designees and is “agnostic as to the business model” they choose to administer the test. Replies are due by September 12, 2019.

Since March 2019, UPS Flight Forward and partner Matternet have been transporting blood and medical samples by drone for WakeMed hospital in Raleigh, North Carolina. Now UPS wants to expand this service to other areas in the U.S.

Atlantic Cape Community College in New Jersey is offering an associate degree in applied science with a concentration in sUAS (Drones) Field Technician. The college says “Upon successful completion of the program students will demonstrate basic proficiency in the area of small UAS operations, general maintenance and repair, the use of a small UAS for the collection of and pre and post-processing of aerial images and videos, and geospatial data collection.”

Flytrex has received a waiver from the FAA to fly over people, specifically over a highway in Holly Springs, North Carolina as part of a three-year test project. Flytrex wants to deliver food over a single route from a shopping center with 15 restaurants to customers at a nearby public park and sports complex.

NUAIR (the Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research alliance) tested the Flytrex drone (a DJI Matrice 600 Pro) and parachute (from Drone Rescue Systems of Austria) in a series of 45 different failure tests at Griffiss International Airport.

The author observed a drone out the window of a commercial flight out of Newark Airport. The seatback in-flight map showed an altitude of 2,800 feet and a ground speed of 230 MPH. He offers some suggestions for the flying public, legislators, and drone manufacturers.

Two Amphibian Aeromapper Talon drones were used in trials in Belize to detect and document illegal fishing activities and perform conservation research. The waterproof drones can land on water. Twenty-four BVLOS flights were successfully flown during the trials. Current enforcement involves patrols around the atoll in small boats.

Video: Commercial grade amphibian fixed-wing drone

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is warning the general public that operating a drone with a dangerous weapon attached is a violation of Section 363 of the 2018 FAA Reauthorization Act enacted Oct. 5, 2018. Operators are subject to civil penalties up to $25,000 for each violation unless the operator has received specific authorization from the Administrator of the FAA to conduct the operation. “Dangerous Weapon” means any item that is used for, or is readily capable of, causing death or serious bodily injury. Operators are subject to civil penalties up to $25,000 for each violation.

HAPSMobile plans to fly a High Altitude Pseudo Satellite (HAPS) over Hawaii, Amazon petitions for drone delivery exemptions, NASA plans to test UAS traffic management in Texas, researchers find that drones are better than people studying whales, a female drone pilot seeks to encourage women, and drones that provide medical assistance.

Japanese drone company HAPSMobile has a waiver to fly a solar-powered UAV over Lanai. The HAWK30 will act as a stratospheric telecommunications platform – a High Altitude Platform Station, also called a High Altitude Pseudo Satellite. The project is a collaboration between HAPSMobile, the University of Hawaii, and the Pan-Pacific UAS Test Range Complex which is managed by the University of Alaska Fairbanks. AeroVironment is HAPSMobile’s aircraft development partner for the HAWK30.

In related news, see HAPSMobile Working Together with Facebook to Accelerate the Adoption of HAPS.

Amazon has filed a 29-page petition with the FAA requesting approval to use their MK27 delivery drone before getting a certificate of airworthiness. Amazon would like to fly BVLOS and they ask for exemptions from certain aviation regulations that are more applicable to manned aircraft. The petition says delivery drones will fly autonomously but with one operator for each drone in flight. Eventually, Amazon would like to have one operator for multiple drones “subject to FAA approval based on flights and simulations that demonstrate required levels of safety.”

The FAA will take public comments on the petition until August 28, 2019. See Petition for Exemption; Summary of Petition Received; Amazon Prime Air in the Federal Register.

NASA selected the Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi’s Lone Star UAS Center of Excellence & Innovation as a nationwide drone testing site. Testing will focus on urban UAS traffic management and they plan to close or restrict access to several downtown streets.

New Zealand researchers found that small, multi-rotor UAVs are better than expert observers on research vessels. When it comes to surveying and studying humpback whales, the drones captured some social activities not detected by the observer and there was no observable effect on the whales’ behavior. See Insights into the use of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to investigate the behavior of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in Vava’u, Kingdom of Tonga.

Victoria Atherton, Derbyshire Police’s first female drone pilot, has said she wants to inspire others and fight crime. She was recently deployed to a damaged dam that forced the evacuation of about 1,500 residents. She commented: “Personally, I think the best way to encourage women to get involved is to support each other. The future of aviation appears to be heading in the direction of unmanned aircraft and it’s important that men and women are equally represented in this field.” Also, “It’s an achievement to be labeled the first, however, I think it’s more important to ensure that I am not the last.”

Researchers from Baghdad’s Middle Technical University and the University of South Australia have designed a system to remotely monitor elderly people. It detects heart rate and temperature abnormalities and provides urgent first aid via a drone if a fall occurs.

The demonstration took place under the agency’s OFFensive Swarm-Enabled Tactics (OFFSET) program, which “envisions future small-unit infantry forces using swarms comprising upwards of 250 unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) and/or unmanned ground systems (UGSs) to accomplish diverse missions in complex urban environments.”

Video: Teams Test Swarm Autonomy in Second Major OFFSET Field Experiment

A drone crash halts Swiss package delivery, AI used to detect drone faults and locate/track other drones, swarming nano-drones, mesh networked drones for precision agriculture, a drone mesh for event security, UAS for airport and public safety, and the reliability of drone sightings from aircraft.

In May, a 22-pound Swiss Post drone crashed 50 yards away from a group of children. As a result, the drone delivery program in Switzerland has been suspended indefinitely. Swiss Post has asked Matternet to make several changes to the system: parachutes connected to the UAV by two ropes instead of one, ropes reinforced with metal braiding, and a louder emergency landing whistle.

Propeller defects in drones can cause them to fall from the sky and researchers have used different methods to perform fault diagnosis. But a new study by Italian researchers takes a different approach and focuses on measuring the noise emitted by the drone. Different noise patterns are used to build an artificial intelligence (AI) model that detects unbalanced blades in a UAV propeller. See Fault Diagnosis for UAV Blades Using Artificial Neural Network.

A Canadian study proposes target-detection and target-following using AI techniques for UAV pursuit-evasion. Deep reinforcement learning predicts the actions to apply to the follower UAV to keep track of the target UAV. A deep object detector and a search area proposal predict the position of the target UAV for tracking purposes. The proposed framework uses vision data. See Drones Chasing Drones: Reinforcement Learning and Deep Search Area Proposal.

Nano drones have been studies for several years. Draper Lab’s DragonflEye drone project was announced in 2017. A real dragonfly wears a tiny backpack fitted with electronics, sensors, and a solar cell. AeroVironment has been working on a nano-hummingbird since 2011. The market for the nano drones alone is expected to reach $13.4 billion by 2023.

Drones are being used for precision agriculture, but there are shortcomings with one drone and a big farm. Many battery changes may be required and the survey could take a lot of time. The Norwegian Defence Research Establishment and Rajant Corporation in the US are working on a drone swarming approach with decentralized communications, self-organizing drones, and little human supervision. The technology uses Rajant’s “Kinetic Mesh®” radio technology and “foreign function interface” distributed computing software.

Atlas Dynamics partnered with the Military Police of Rio de Janeiro State to use the AtlasPRO at the Copa America soccer (football) tournament. The AtlasPRO was flown in single and multi-UAS missions along the perimeter of the stadium during the tournament’s final series. Data was gathered on public safety hazards and to facilitate emergency response. This was the first time the Atlas mesh multi-drone UAS technology was approved for use at a major sporting event. The mesh multi-node communication capability allows a single operator to command and control a drone network from a unified ground control system. The operator can divide missions among several UAS and maintain constant “eyes in the sky” using autonomous hot-swap capabilities.

Droneresponders has released the 2019 Mid-Year Public Safety UAS Report. Three out of four public safety agencies say they are already either operating drones or working on implementing a drone program. More than 80% of public safety UAS operators either have obtained or are pursuing, their FAA Part 107 certification. 82% of public safety agencies with a UAS program are operating multi-rotor systems, while only 11% are using fixed- or delta-wing drones. Over 35% of public safety UAS programs are using the FAA’s LAANC system for airspace requests.

AeroTEC has completed proof-of-concept aerial surveys in Washington State at Sunnyside Municipal Airport (1S5) and Prosser Airport (S40). The AeroTEC system looks for runway obstacles using photogrammetry to meet the requirement of FAA FAR 14 CFR Part 77. See AeroTEC Conducts First UAS Part 77 Survey of Washington State Airports for WSDOT.

Epic Long Range FPV Mountain Surfing – 7km round trip

Drone Sightings (2014-2018) from the FAA from Rupprecht Law.

Bio-inspired drones are getting attention, a general contractor receives a waiver for flights over people with a parachute-equipped drone, six Israeli drone companies, a drone-mounted flamethrower, BVLOS critical infrastructure inspection, and an online drone survey.

Bio-inspired drones are being investigated by a number of researchers. A Northeastern University roboticist is working on a bat-inspired robot called Bat Bot. Animal Dynamics of Oxford, England, is working with the United Kingdom’s Defense Science and Technology Laboratory to build a dragonfly-like drone called Skeeter. Harvard University researchers are working on RoboBee which weighs less than a paper clip and features two pairs of solar-powered wings controlled by artificial muscles.

Video: Advanced Robotic Bat Can Fly Like the Real Thing

ParaZero Technologies Ltd announced the FAA has approved a waiver for flights over people to Hensel Phelps, a large general contractor. Hensel Phelps will use ParaZero’s ASTM F3322-18 compliant SafeAir Phantom Parachute System. The system monitors flight parameters for anomalies and when critical failures are identified, the rotors are stopped and the parachute is deployed. According to the FAA, this process is scalable and available to other applicants who propose to use the same drone and parachute combination. The FAA will require each applicant to provide the testing, documentation, and statement of compliance listed in ASTM 3322-18 in their applications using the same drone and parachute combination. ASTM 3322-18 is the Standard Specification for Small Unmanned Aircraft System (sUAS) Parachutes.

This article describes six Israeli drone companies:

• The Tevel Aerobotics Technologies Ltd. autonomous drone has a one-meter long mechanical claw which can pick apples and oranges.
• Flytrex Aviation Ltd. has a cellular data communication module allowing operators to remotely control any drone using a mobile app.
• SkyX Ltd. modifies commercially available drones to become agricultural spraying machines.
• Construction tech startup Civdrone Ltd. turns commercially available drones into land surveying, measuring, and marking machines for construction sites.
• Airobotics Ltd. develops automatic drones for security details and land surveys at factories, refineries, and mining sites.
• Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. (IAI) has a “suicide drone” called Rotem that uses a grenade to attack targets in combat situations.

Flamethrower manufacturer Throwflame is now selling a drone-attachable flamethrower, the TF-19 Wasp, available for personal and commercial use such as controlling weeds, ground-clearing, ice and snow melting/clearing, and grassland management.

Soaring Eagle Imaging (SEI) utilizes unmanned technology in inspection applications for enterprise clients. They have been granted 17 emergency BVLOS waivers in the past and helped with critical infrastructure inspection near Baton Rouge after Hurricane Barry hit Louisiana on July 13th, 2019. SEI is a veteran-owned and operated UAS company that offers drone aerial services, such as image capture, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), aviation and FAA regulations.

The N.C. Department of Transportation wants to gauge public opinion about the growing use of drones and has created an online survey. Please support NCDOT’s efforts and contribute your input.

An MIT lab has developed a system that creates the controller for a hybrid drone, UPS forms a drone delivery subsidiary, LAANC is expanded to include recreational Part 107 operators, Australian drone registration is delayed, a gas detecting micro-drone, and a quadcopter that shrinks to get through small openings.

The MIT Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) has developed a system that uses a neural network to design the controller for drones that combine the VTOL characteristics of a multi-rotor with the horizontal flight of a fixed-wing. Non-experts can easily design a hybrid drone in a few hours.

Video: Hybrid Drones: Drones that can hover like helicopters and fly like planes

UPS has filed for Part 135 certification from the FAA to operate a newly established subsidiary called UPS Flight Forward, Inc. The certification, when granted, will allow application for FAA-approved flight operations beyond line of sight, at night, and with an unlimited number of drones and operators in command. UPS intends to be at the forefront of commercial drone aviation for routine flights.

On July 23, 2019, the FAA expanded the Low Altitude Authorization and Capability (LAANC) system to include recreational flyers. The FAA says this “will significantly increase the ability of drone pilots to gain access to controlled airspace nationwide.” It is accessible to all pilots who operate under the FAA’s small drone rule (Part 107).

The roll-out of the Australian drone registration scheme has been delayed by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA). CASA said, “We’re going to be toughening up the drone safety rules” and also that “Commercial operators [will be] first [to register], then recreational. Recreational users are likely to start in mid to late 2020.”

The SNAV (Smelling Nano Aerial Vehicle) is a tiny drone that fits in the palm of your hand. It has MOX (metal oxide) gas sensors that can detect carbon monoxide, methane, and other organic volatile compounds like ethanol, acetone, and benzene. Spanish researchers from the University of Barcelona and the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia modified a commercially available Crazyflie 2.0 mini quadcopter.

Q: How do you get a larger quadcopter through a smaller opening, like a window? A: Shoot toward the window, fold the arms back at the last moment, pass through the opening with momentum, then unfold the arms and recover on the other side. UC Berkeley researchers have demonstrated a foldable drone that does just that.

Video: Design and Control of a Passively Morphing Quadcopter

Proceedings: 2019 FAA UAS Symposium held June 3-5, 2019, in Baltimore, Maryland is now available.

DJI announces it’s “Government Edition” hardware and software to address data security fears, while one company drops Chinese drones from its services. A public safety alliance announces its board of advisors, an unmanned surface vehicle rescues swimmers, an interim report on UAS mitigation at airports is published, a drone operations app is launched in Australia, and a de-confliction service for drone flights is available via an API.

Amid all the government concerns and restrictions concerning Chinese drones, DJI has come up with a solution: the DJI Government Edition hardware and software. This is intended exclusively for government agencies and DJI says the Government Edition offers advanced security measures, ensuring governments can perform their essential drone work confidently and securely. The drone does not require activation with DJI, drones and controllers will not pair with off the shelf components, and local data mode is permanently enabled.

Video: DJI – Introducing DJI Government Edition

California-based startup Cape says it’s going to tell its customers that it will no longer sell software that is compatible with Chinese drones. The Cape Aerial Telepresence™ software platform allows clients to quickly and remotely dispatch and operate drones to surveil incidents or crime scenes. An on-site iPad with internet connectivity is connected to the drone’s remote control transmitter. The pilot live-streams video to any iOS or Android platform and during remote operations, the teleoperator can use a computer to control the drone from anywhere.

DRONERESPONDERS is a non-profit program that was formed to bring together aerial first responders, emergency managers, and search and rescue specialists. They want to foster drone operations for public safety by learning, training, and testing one another. The DRONERESPONDERS Public Safety Alliance is operated as an official program under AIRT Inc., the Airborne International Response Team, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization formed in 2017 to help provide unmanned aviation research and charitable contributions for public safety and disaster relief.

The Emergency Integrated Lifesaving Lanyard (EMILY) USV was recently used to rescue four swimmers from the ocean at Rockaway Beach in Oregon. The unmanned surface vehicle was deployed by the Rockaway Fire Department deployed EMILY to save two young boys and their family members that tried to rescue them.

The Blue Ribbon Task Force on UAS Mitigation at Airports was commissioned in 2019 by AUVSI and ACI-NA to address the issue of incursions by unauthorized UAS at US airports and how best to mitigate the threat. The Task Force released its Interim Report on July 12, 2019, with over twenty recommendations to industry and government on steps that should be taken to safeguard airports from UAS incursions. The Task Force will also solicit comments on its website from interested parties.

Alphabet’s Wing has formally introduced its OpenSky app for iOS and Android devices in Australia. Wing says OpenSky is “a family of software products that will give drone operators a greater understanding of, and access to, the sky around them. OpenSky products will help users comply with rules and plan flights more safely and effectively.” After entering a location, the Australian OpenSky app gives you a checklist of critical factors such as airspace restrictions, known hazardous situations, and proximity to airports and heliports. Users also get alerts that relate to emergency response situations, nearby sporting events, or other situations that may impact available airspace.

Altitude Angel is a U.K. aviation technology company with a purpose-built cloud platform that supports both U-Space and UTM. The company is launching a de-confliction service for drone flights that is available via its developer API platform. Altitude Angel says the Conflict Resolution Service addresses some of the key risks which prevent BVLOS operations today.

The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) has performed a number of drone market research studies, including a consumer study titled Drones: Public Perceptions & Consumer Attitudes which looks at the number of owners by type of drone, general awareness of drones and safety messaging, purchase likelihood, and drone applications. Other aspects of consumer behavior such as the influence of geofencing and an aeronautical knowledge test requirement were determined.

We discuss CTA drone market research with Steven Hummel, a senior research analyst at CTA. Steven manages the execution of consumer and B2B market research projects, both domestic and international, across a variety of CTA’s technology categories. 

Steven explains the survey methodology and some of the CTA research projects, including the Public Perceptions & Consumer Attitudes study released in February 2019 which looks at individuals, and the annual Consumer Technology Ownership and Market Potential Study which studied drones from the household perspective.

Steven communicates his insights through in-depth reports and blog posts published on CTA’s website and Steve is also an active speaker at industry events, including at this year’s FAA UAS Symposium. Steven is a graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park where he earned his Master’s degree in Survey Methodology and Bachelor’s degree in Criminology.

Learn more about all the CTA studies at cta.tech/research.

Diana Cooper is the Senior Vice President of Policy & Strategy at PrecisionHawk, a company that leverages advanced robotics, robust software, and rich data to extract the commercial value of drones. PrecisionHawk provides training, drone consulting, and global flight services.

PrecisionHawk has joined the Alliance for Drone Innovation (ADI), a D.C.-based coalition of drone manufacturers, suppliers, and software developers. Diana will lead the ADI’s Drone Operators Federation as the inaugural president of the Federation.

Diana was president of the Small UAV Coalition and she serves on the Advocacy Committee of AUVSI as well as on the board of Drone Alliance Europe and the advisory board of the Energy Drone Coalition. Diana is a member of the UN Working Group on Legal and Policy Frameworks for Geospatial Information Management and is a subcommittee member of the FAA Drone Advisory Committee (DAC). She served on the FAA UAS Identification and Tracking ARC as well as the NTIA Multi-stakeholder Process on UAS Privacy.

Diana has testified on UAS policy before the Senate Commerce Committee, briefed the House UAS Caucus, and participated in White House meetings on UAS.

Recently, PrecisionHawk CEO Michael Chasen was appointed as chairman of the Drone Advisory Committee (DAC) by U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao. Additionally, former U.S. Congressman Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ) has been appointed as a Special Advisor to the company on drone regulatory and policy initiatives. In Congress, LoBiondo was a senior member of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee and was a vocal proponent of integrating UAS technology for commercial applications into the National Airspace System.

Princess Aliyah Pandolfi from the Kashmir World Foundation is our guest. We spoke with her at the Innovations in Flight Family Day and Outdoor Aviation Display, held June 15, 2019, at the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia.

This annual event is held the Saturday before Father’s Day. Besides the museum exhibits, a number of commercial, military, and general aviation aircraft fly in for the day. There are also special exhibitors throughout the museum providing information and activities.

The Kashmir World Foundation promotes wildlife education and conservation, often utilizing drones. Listen as Max, Micah, and Robert catch up on Kashmir World Foundation activities with Aliyah.

Highlights of the FAA UAS Symposium held June 3-5, 2019 at the Baltimore Convention Center. Presented by the Federal Aviation Administration and AUVSI.

Over 1000 attendees from industry, the government, and academia gathered for three days of keynotes, breakout sessions, and “how to” sessions.

We discuss some highlights of the Symposium, including industry/government collaboration, drone remote identification, education and outreach, urban air mobility, drone delivery, public agency use of drones, counter-UAV issues, UAS traffic management, and more.

Alliance for Drone Innovation

Blue Ribbon Task Force on UAS Mitigation at Airports

Flight Plan 2030 white paper on Urban Air Traffic Management from Embraer.

Innovations in Flight Family Day and Aviation Display at the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, Saturday, June 15, 2019, 10:00 am to 3:00 pm.